Strangers and Pajamas
by gladysnotw
Summary: Violet is the eldest of her two siblings, Gretel and Bruno. When they move from their beloved home into the countryside, Bruno starts noticing some strange things about the people that work in their home: They wear striped pajamas. Violet knows who they really are and why everyone treats them cruelly, and it doesn't help when she and Bruno befriend one of them named Shmuel.


We were moving. Father had us sit down in the living room one morning and told us the news. Gretel took the news rather well, but Bruno did not. He didn't want to move away due to how much he loved our home and he would miss his friends dearly. I put my hand on his and gave him a comforting smile. His bright blue eyes lowered and he sighed.

Even when we arrived at the house, he wasn't very happy. The house, in my opinion, was perfect for Bruno. He loved to go exploring and such, and the house was enormous. So, he would have plenty of room to play in. Gretel, of course, needed quite a large room. She needed plenty of room to keep all her dolls in. She was going to be as handsome as father.

She had his blonde hair and pale skin. Bruno and I had our mother's dark brown hair and were quite thin. I had dark eyes and Bruno had mother's blue eyes. We chose our rooms when we arrived. Gretel and Bruno hurried up the stairs to choose theirs. I didn't really care about which room I got. As long as it had a reasonable amount of room inside of it. Bruno got the only bedroom with a window. Lucky.

I walked into the only bedroom left and admired its size. It was cozy and not very big. Not a big deal. I didn't need a huge room. Bruno wore a frown the whole day and I sympathized for him. He missed the other house, but I tried to persuade him that it wasn't so bad.

"I want to go home." Bruno said as he sat on the stairs with me.

"You haven't even given this place a chance yet. You might find that you actually like this place." I told him.

We talked a bit about it in the kitchen, until Bruno mentioned something about a farm. Mother put a hand on her waist and smiled.

"There are children there?" she asked.

Bruno nodded. "Yes, will I be able to play with them?"

"I don't see why not."

"I'll just watch them for now. Just to see what they're like. They're a bit strange."

"Strange?" Mother laughed a bit.

The door to the kitchen from outside opened and a man came in, holding a tray. Mother's face went pale and she frowned at the man. He was a bit elderly looking and held a tray of vegetables.

"I'm sorry. Vegetables." he said, quietly.

Mother said nothing, but stared. I looked over at him and pointed to the kitchen counter. "Over there. Thank you."

He nodded and put them on the counter. Bruno stared at him as he left and mumbled something.

"I told you they were strange."

Mother grimaced. "What do you mean?"

"The farmers. They wear pajamas all the time." Bruno replied.

Mother looked at me and gently pushed Bruno towards me. "Violet, take your brother outside. Or go see what your father's up to."

With a small grimace, I put my hand on Bruno's shoulder and walked him out of the kitchen. We headed towards the door until we heard father's voice.

"Oh, Bruno, I was going to look for you."

We turned and saw father in his uniform with two other soldiers. We had always had soldiers in the house. I never knew what they talked about in father's study. He never told us, so I always supposed it was just military business that would only bore us.

"Come in." Father told Bruno.

I watched Bruno go towards father's study and smiled. Father kept staring at me.

"You come in too, darling. I think it would do you good." he said.

I followed Bruno into the room as he sat in front of father's desk. I stood behind where Bruno was seated and put a hand on his shoulder.

"How are you, Bruno?" Father asked.

"I want to go home." Bruno said, quietly.

He slouched a bit in his chair and father side-smiled. "You _are_ home, Bruno. Home is not merely a building, it's where your family is."

Bruno did not reply.

"Bruno, at least give the place a chance." I said, looking down at Bruno.

"Your sister's right, Bruno. You really-"

"Why do the farmers where pajamas?" Bruno asked, suddenly.

Father narrowed his eyes, confused.

"I can see them from my window." Bruno said.

Father stared out of his own window, thinking. The room was silent until father spoke again, strictly.

"The thing is, Bruno, those...people...well, they're not really people."

I grimaced at that. Father noticed and suddenly gave me a cold stare. I didn't understand, and neither did Bruno.

"How can they not be...people?" I asked.

Before father could answer, mother came into the room. Her heels clicked on the floor as she stormed in. She stood beside Bruno and I, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Bruno, who told you about the farm? Was it Maria?" Mother asked.

Bruno looked up at her. "No. It is a farm, isn't it?"

I looked at father, who looked down. Glancing at mother, she didn't seem to know how to reply either. Then, she spoke up before licking her lower lip.

"Yes."

"Is it for your job?" Bruno asked father.

"All you need to know about my work here, Bruno, is that it's very important to our country and for you. We're working very hard to make this a better world for you to grow up in."

"But, you're not a soldier, you're a farmer." Bruno said.

"Bruno, why don't you go help me in the kitchen with Maria?"

"I can still play with them, though. The children at the farm?"

Mother looked at father, who was writing something at his desk. Mother shook her head at Bruno.

"No, I don't think so, Burno. Like you said, they're a bit strange. They're...they're different. Come along."

Bruno lowered his eyes and got up from the chair. Mother kissed him on the cheek.

"Don't worry, my love." she said, with a small giggle. "We'll find you some new friends to play with but they won't be the ones from the farm."

Bruno headed out and I watched him go. Mother closed the door and looked at me and father.

"Ralf, you promised it was miles and miles away." Mother said, lowering her voice.

"It is. How was I to know he'd see it from his bedroom window?" Father asked.

I narrowed my eyes at that and swallowed. "It's not a farm, is it?"

My parents looked at me, and for once in my life, I felt like I was talking to strangers. Father sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Violet, you're 16 years old, darling. I think you're old enough to know what's going on with your country."

Mother shook her head. "Ralf, don't."

"What do you mean? You mean, why we're here? The work that you do?"

Father stood up and put his hands on my shoulders. "Yes. Please, sit."

Mother stood by the chair where I sat as father sat back down at his desk. He folded his hands as he rested his elbows on the desk.

"Do you know what a Jew is, Violet?"

"Only what I used to talk about with my friend, Liza, back at home. They're not really treated well, those poor people. Liza said she-"

"They are _not_ people." Father said, coldly.

There was silence and father continued. "They are keeping this world from being a better place for you and your siblings. It's my job, as a soldier, to keep them away from us. From you and Bruno and Gretel."

"Keep them away? Is that why Liza said she heard about her neighbors being taken from their own home?" I asked.

"Yes. We're keeping them away from the good people of this world because they are what is polluting it."

"Polluting it...? You take them from their homes and put them in-"

She paused. That was no farm that Bruno saw. It's where all the Jews were going.

"You keep them there. The places where Bruno thinks they're farms."

Father nodded. "Yes."

I felt a sick feeling in my stomach. "What do you do with them?"

Silence. Father lowered his eyes and spoke quietly. "Nothing. They're workers now."

"Violet, I think we should go to the kitchen. Maria needs our help."

Maria was one of our maids. A young and very hard-working girl. We left the room, but I was not satisfied with what I had just been told. I needed to know more about these Jews and what father's "job" for them was.

~x~

 **A/N: May or may not continue this, but we'll see how it goes. Also, if you're easily offended by Nazi stuff and the Holocaust, don't read this. If you've read the book or seen the movie, you'll know that it's full of that stuff, so this won't be any different.**


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